When Stan and Katie Taloff first saw the waterfront slice of property they now call home on Camano Island, it didn’t look like much.
Someone had erected two garages. One of them had been converted into a basic, one-room cabin.
But the Taloffs could see past the buildings built decades ago.
“We’re really big dreamers,” Katie Taloff said. “Everything is about potential.”
The Taloffs, both 60, were wooed by the property’s pebble beach and easy access to the water.
“You’re personally relating with what’s happening on top of the water, whales, seals, otters, salmon jumping and all the sea life,” Katie Taloff said of the Beach Drive property looking across Port Susan and up the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. “Bald eagles are everywhere.”
Though the Taloffs knew the promise of the property was great, they needed a little help. Fortunately, they had met an experienced builder at church, Bruce Hahn with House of Hahn.
Hahn and his son, Zach, saw right away what needed to be done to create not only the perfect beach home, but a venue for the couple’s Bible study groups of up to 25 people.
They needed to raze the garages and start anew.
“Bruce is amazing. Bruce had license to create. We trust him,” Katie Taloff said, adding that she wanted to keep things in perspective without fussing over every finish, fixture and paint color.
Bruce Hahn came up with a contemporary, slightly Tuscan rambler design.
Guests who enter here do so grandly, thanks to an extra-high, 8-foot-wide entry hall with a lighted, coved ceiling. Straight-ahead views beckon through a symmetrical window arrangement topped by a half-circle pane.
Though the entry hall is grand, it’s also a portal to the home’s two bedrooms and office. At the end of the hall is an open-concept kitchen, living and dining room space.
The high cathedral ceilings are a plus for the Taloffs and the members of the Christian Family Center church on Camano Island, where Stan Taloff is an administrator.
Bruce Hahn, who attends Bible studies here, said he was amazed the first time he heard the effect of 25 people singing and worshiping in the space.
“It sounded better than church. Really. It was fun,” he said. “I like the feeling you get in here. It’s like a gathering place.”
Stan Taloff said the open floor plan converts easily into a venue for the church group.
“And we still have the opportunity to have it be workable-sized home for just the two of us,” he said, adding that he loves sharing the home and the water with friends and family. “It’s fabulous.”
Katie Taloff doesn’t take it for granted either.
“I’m on vacation every day of my life,” she said. “I wake up every day and say, ‘Thank you, God, for another day on this beach.’ “
Sarah Jackson
425-339-3037
sjackson@heraldnet.com
Resources
House of Hahn Bruce Hahn 425-319-7780 houseofhahn@gmail.com
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